Author Archive for nicktemple

Shine 09 photo collection

Published by nicktemple on May 18, 2009 in shine09. Closed

Brief reflection on Shine 09

Published by nicktemple on May 18, 2009 in shine09. Closed

Just wanted to capture some quick reflections on the two days of Shine 09. Am sure there will be more over the next few days, + more photos and videos to be uploaded.

Overall, as one of the co-founders and organisers (SSE), I’m pretty delighted with how it went. Massive congrats and thanks to Sam, Lizzie and all at Germination for all their hard work in making the event a reality, and one that ran pretty smoothly. And all on a shoestring budget.

The four partners started the event because they felt there was a need for an accessible, affordable, practical, well-networked, dynamic event that was less about long powerpoints and plenary speeches, and more about one-to-one support and moving your business on. I really think Shine 09 delivered on that concept, and, overall, it felt like more ‘business’ was being done at the event than last year. Or, as Cliff Prior (UnLtd CEO) summarised to me, Shine 08 was about inspiration, Shine 09 was about perspiration…or about implementation. I saw a couple of SSE Fellows walking out at the end of Friday and they were listing the work they’d got, the contacts made, and the practical advice they’d received…which was very much music to my ears.

Highlights for me on the Friday were the 1:1 areas, where organisations like Lovells, Futurebuilders, UnLtd, Ashoka and ourselves got little respite from social entrepreneurs thirsty for advice and information. Some of the workshop sessions were a little more mixed, going on anecdotal feedback, but I heard positive things about the Mind MOT session and Jackie Westlake’s DCLG session(s) in particular.

On Saturday, the vibe was relaxed and enjoyable, and What If gave a load of bespoke consultancy to those who were there (and booked in). The Social Collaboration game was great, and its hypothetical MP expenses endowment fund almost became a Twitter hoax, before being stopped in its tracks. Finally, the pitching session was great, with four excellent projects, and the judging panel giving supportive and constructive feedback (though I say so myself). Martin Sherrard won the popular vote, and an UnLtd Level 1 Award, for his walled kitchen garden project.

As ever, we will learn from this year and the things that went well and that didn’t. The balance between structured and unstructured felt good this year, and the Kings Place and the Hub Kings Cross were stellar venues. The only challenge with Kings Place was the split levels (which meant it felt slightly less of “one event” together) and lack of natural light in the downstairs rooms, but it’s a great and well-resourced place to have an event. The Hub has a great vibe and, as at Kings Place, the staff and team there could not have been more helpful and accommodating.

Final big thanks to all who made it possible: Germination as I mentioned above, the funders and sponsors (Lovells, Futurebuilders, CCLA, DCLG, OTS et al), the media partners, the founding partners (especially Ben@Ashoka, Jonathan@theHub, Cliff and Nic@UnLtd), all the volunteer UnConsultants and helpers, David Wilcox for this site, and to all the social reporters and twitterers who helped make the event one that others could be involved in even from miles away.

Till next year then… ;0)

Guest post: ideas generation gone comedic

Published by nicktemple on May 16, 2009 in shine09 and social media. Closed

Post from UnLtdWorld’s Nicola Jones:

So after a thoroughly inspiring “big sheep little sheep” game, I find myself sat in the corner of the Hub with Dave Dawes, Sam Beinhacker and Lucy Wood thinking about the “yes and ” model..the idea that you stop rubbishing other peoples ideas and building on them..

Best way to put this in motion?…ACTION! So we start off with Dave’s Idea of creating an off-license with sells organic beer, but also encourages less alcohol consumption..okay so what next? Well Sam suggests the off-license has AA-sessions…ok so where from there? well ever the alcoholic(!) I suggest we also add in a “recovery and dry out centre” to the centre, which helps people recover from long nights out…so Lucy what can you add…well she reckons the now centre, also has a minibus that goes out to schools in the area and teaches them about responsible consumption of alcohol…so now we’re into education..not enough! says Dave…the minibus will simulate the “ministry of sound” for young people but without alcohol…teaching them it isn’t the be all and end all..

You see where you get?! Love SHINE – its all about these random conversations which inspire whole new ways of thinking..

Saturday morning: creativity and collaboration

Published by nicktemple on May 16, 2009 in shine09. Closed

Sitting here, listening to WhatIf? get everyone going this morning. Writing down our barriers to creativity on a bit of paper, scrunching it up and throwing it at them was strangely satisfying. Enjoyed that. And I like the Vicky Pollard device of “yeah but, no but” to test ideas….seeking objections etc.

Meanwhile, upstairs, the Social Collaboration Game is being prepared in what looks like a very serious darkened corner room. Looks like the Gorbachev-Reagan summit from down here on the ground floor.

Good crowd in today, and a good, relaxed vibe. Check out the photos on flickr (shine09’s the tag). Finest example of collaboration this morning was the WhatIf-UnLtdWorld-SSE breakfast; coffees, savoury and pastries. Simple but effective, and with a practical outcome. That’ll be the vibe of the day, I reckon.

Catching up (and missing out)

Published by nicktemple on May 15, 2009 in shine09. Closed

OK, so managed to sneak a sandwich and some coffee and am back on the laptop. Loving chatting and ranting with the effervescent Servane from Ogunte (whose social leadership awards are coming up later), and Maor from EGO Network. The importance of evaluation and measurement are the topic round this table; still lots of good 1:1 work going on. Lovells are very busy, still. So are Futurebuilders and Ashoka and a whole range of others.

Great also to catch up with SSE Fellow Sheenagh Day, whose Maison Bengal fairtrade business is going from strength to strength. She’s been so heads down busy that I haven’t seen her for about a year, but all seems to be going fantastically well. We’ve agreed to meet up re. some pro-bono legal support and other strategic capacity.

Good also to meet the legendary Steve Bridger in person / passing, and to chat to a whole range of different grassroots social entrepreneurs who are getting the support, advice and (as all of the above demonstrates hopefully) networking they need. Was particularly delighted to meet one woman (Sara?) who explained she was thinking of setting up an organisation in Sheffield, but didn’t know where to go for support. Delightfully, SSE Yorkshire is going to open later in the year, so hopefully she’ll come on board.

(un)Question Time for social entrepreneurs

Published by nicktemple on May 15, 2009 in shine09 and stories. Closed

OK – first bit of live blogging. Am sitting in a session with a panel of four social entrepreneurs, chaired by our own David Dimbleby, Cliff Prior (CEO, UnLtd). The intention is to share learning, real experiences (successes and failures) and genuinely interrogate these practitioners.

First up is Ben Ramsden from Pants to Poverty, whose organisation started on the back of Make Poverty History and has grown from there. Interesting (already) that none of them are comfortable with being called “successful”. Sold 3,000 pairs of pants first up, and then went from there. [Shock news: Cliff owns some]

Second up is Davina Roberts of Punch and Juicy, who runs a healthy-living / drinks organisation. She has overcome homelessness, and chalenging illness, to do this work. She emphasised the importance of networking and “smiling while pushing business cards at people”. Punch and Juicy is a great name; + she has “juice masters” who make and create new drinks.

Third up is Annys Darkwa of Vision Housing which supports ex-offenders to access accommodation. Very interesting model (check the website)….and she felt that service user involvement and empowerment was at the heart of her success (alongside having the boxes ticked: policies and procedures).

Finally, Ben Matthews of Bright One, which provides PR to charities and social enterprises. I met Ben last year, and he is one of our excellent social reporters, and Bright One is cool. Going very well: too well, because they’ve had to put a stop to charities etc coming with more projects.

—————————————
Into the discussion, which is (I’m going to be honest here) sliding straight into definitions, much to a fair amount of tedium in the room…but Cliff has put a stop to it (through asking us to vote on whether social enterprise is charity 2.0 or business 2.0; most thought the latter, though I would say both….).

Now talking about how you can effectively marry your product with your social mission. Soc ents feel it is largely about relationships and interweaving them as much as possible.

Q: what skills do you need? Partners, partnerships (being able to identify the right partners) are key. Be clear about your core idea, and innovate within it. Communicate with wide range of people. Choose whatever structure is fit to your mission, finance and governance (not structure first). Also about characteristics and traits, not skills. Get them to learn by doing.

Q: Did you ever consider giving up? And what kept you going? Lack of holiday, lack of sleep, constant stream of e-mails, personal investment etc. all coming across as challenges. Career-changing a challenge. Need to stick at it (”survive enough until you get lucky” to paraphrase Kiva founder). Scale of ambition can depress you, but relationships sustain you through. Joy, passion, impact that work creates. + turn a challenge into an opportunity.

Q: We all go on a big learning journey? Who’s given you support….leading to ’social entrepreneurs’ are most similar to offenders: “they see something and they go after it”; interesting answer from Davina; Cricklewood Homeless Concern, Brent Housing, Groundswell, Nigel Kershaw, Shine 09, Bright Ideas Trust, and weaving her way through the network….+ family! Quote of the session: “my gran said, ‘finally, you’ve got a good idea’”

Q: Question about plagiarism of your idea; all had some experience of it at different levels…or at least as they interpret it. One had competition set up, another had staff poached, etc. Importance of retaining core value. Need to take it as compliment + tools to protect yourself.

If I’m being honest, this session hasn’t really caught light for me. Nuggets of gold, and good honesty and openness, but crowd seem a little subdued. Maybe they are just taking it all in!

———————–
Summary: synergy between social and business is key; learning and going, not teaching / formal learning; belief and motivation (support + thing that reminds you why); use your support network: easier to be brave in company; using the people who say no to you.

One line advice: take holidays; time for yourself; JFDI management (just ‘*!@ing do it!) and learn how to drive! Don’t wait till you’re ready. Recognition reminders.

On your marks

Published by nicktemple on May 15, 2009 in shine09. Closed

And let the chaos commence. Am posting partly to push that dreadful photo further down the page. And to say that all seems to be going well. Certainly here in the surgery area there’s probably about 50 or so social entrepreneurs getting 1:1 support from Lovells, UnLtd, Bridges Ventures, and others. Exactly what we want to see.

Meanwhile, next door, the DCLG head of third sector and social enterprise, Jackie Westlake, is providing a guide to navigating your way through government, and how to make it work. I was delighted to hear one participant come out and say, “she’s from government…but she’s actually listening”. Very much a mutually beneficial exchange it sounds like.

IN the basement suite of rooms, we have some investment readiness, a workshop with thinkPublic and London Rebuilding Society doing a session on funding.

Delighted to bump into a mix of current SSE students, SSE Fellows, including the esteemed Max Graef of RadioActive, who has set up a radio station here in the corner of the room.

Morning, morning Shine 09

Published by nicktemple on May 15, 2009 in shine09 and social media. Closed

Coffee cupWell, it’s crept up on me, but Shine 2009 is suddenly here. It’s ridiculously early and I will need a gallon of coffee before I’m capable of speaking to anyone…but what an exciting line-up / participant list we have for today. Check the schedule / details out at www.shineunconference.com

We’ll be reporting all day here on http://shine.socialreporter.net and I will be accompanied by a ragbag assortment of people with much more expertise and knowledge than me (which is always helpful: first tip of the day: surround yourself with excellent people). Including David Wilcox (of this parish, social reporter.net), Steve Bridger (who I’m yet to meet in person) and other Shine 08 veterans (!) such as Dave Dawes of Entreprenurses, Ben Matthews of Bright One and the irrepressible Darragh Doyle over from Ireland.

There will, I hope, be blog posts to read, video to watch (both Qik and Flip for those of you for whom that means something), photos to admire, and tweets aplenty. The tag for the event is #shine09 so feel free to get involved if you’re coming today or tomorrow, or follow us virtually.

Feel free to come and say hello (SSE will be doing some evaluation 1:1s this afternoon, and acting as unconsultants throughout the day), or say hello in the comments below.

Now, off to find Kings Place, 300+ social entrepreneurs, and that coffee….

Podcast about blogs from Shine is up

Published by nicktemple on May 22, 2008 in audio and shine2008. Closed

Dave Dawes, of Entreprenurses fame, has posted up his podcast of bloggers talking about blogging (and a bit about twittering) at Shine 2008. It features not only myself (the most incoherent / inaudible of all the participants) but also a range of other blogging advocates and sceptics, and covers, amongst many other things:

  • Meeting and networking with people via their blog
  • Making time for creating and following blogs
  • How blogs can raise the profile of your social enterprise
  • The role of blog comments and blog readership
  • Corporate vs personal/informal blogging styles
  • How to start blogging (typepad, wordpress, etc)

    • Check out and download the podcast here.

    Live blogging: final pitching event

    Published by nicktemple on May 11, 2008 in shine2008 and stories. Closed

    OK – final event here at Shine 2008, with 3 social entrepreneurs pitching to an esteemed panel for £5000…..MC’d by the ‘compere without compare’, Matt Kepple. I can see David Wilcox doing some video of the pitches, so I’ll aim at an edited highlights commentary.

    First up is Minnie from India, who wants to go round Devon doing workshops on climate change, based on things she has learned from her time at Schumacher College. The panel are being very nice about the pitch (which rambled a bit and lost me), but the kernel of the idea came through: a people-powered movement to locally inform and reach out. Questions were about the need for brand, about the need to differentiate, and about the possibility of sharing and working in partnership with others. Minnie gave pretty good answers to most of those.

    Second up is Alexia, who used to be the Social Enterprise Coalition membership officer, is pitching for a project….which aims to utilise yoga to tackle mental health issues / eating disorders etc. She wants the money to help inform and advocate the various stakeholder communities (care services, yoga practitioners, funders etc. and so forth), as well as deliver workshops herself. In the first instance, she wants to do some market research as the first stage of her journey. Good presentation, which was very clear and, to her credit, started with a clear outlining of her personal motivation. Questions are pondering the scope of ambition (too much?), planning effectively, and the barriers there may be: not least because it’s about working in the NHS. Good answers, particularly about not wanting to ‘own the space’, but ensure others can learn from her work.

    Third up is Ben, who is pitching for a third sector communications agency for those whose projects and organisations can’t afford big budget investment in this area; utilising volunteers (students, but also those with experience from different agencies). Is now explaining the business model, and the potential social impact. Probably the clearest pitch so far: pretty impressive: “at the start of the weekend, I wasn’t sure this was a good idea….but now I know it is”. Questions are around quality control (particularly if using volunteers), about the internship culture already existing (a suggestion around providing the training scheme to the existing big marketing agencies gets a decent response), uniqueness, method:purpose…..

    [I have to say, and I am aware that this might be the jaded, slightly tired grump in me, but why are people incapable of phrasing a succinct, concise and clear question? Hey ho....]

    And finally, the voting, people are holding up different coloured cards like a low-budget Apprentice:You’re Fired…. and the winner, with the blue cards holding sway….. is….Alexia.

    That’s a wrap, people!

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